Tree balling machines



Dec. 20, 1960 F. P. DANIELS, JR

TREE BALLING MACHINES Original Filed March 22, 1954 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 4INVEN'iOR.

FRA/vc RDA/was, Jk.

WWWz E J ATTORNEY:

Dec. 20, 1960 F. P. DANIELS, JR 2,964,860-

TREE BALLING MACHINES Original Filed March 22, 1954 3 Sheets-Sheet '2INVENTOR. 1 16. 3 FRANcRDA/v/Emk v I WJZ'Q/ W/Zfij Dec. 20, 1960 F. P.DANIELS, JR

' TREE BALLING MACHINES Original Filed March 22, 1954 3 Sheets-Sheet 3INVENTOR. FRANC PDAN/ELS, Jk. BY wwlww xlT'raR/VEYJ United States PatentTREE BALLING Franc P. Daniels, Jr., Long Lake, Minn.

Original application Mar. 22, 1954, Ser. No. 417,349. Divided and thisapplication May 6, 1959, Ser. No. 811,313 p 14 Claims. '(Cl. 37--2) VThis invention relates to new and useful improvements in treeballingmachines (generally) and more specifically to an irn'provedballing band.4

It is well-known that certain nursery stock, particularly smallevergreens, shrubs and other trees which are subsequently to.betransplanted, should have their roois "pruned duringtheir early growthtoprovide a .strong' well developed rootsystem, which, when balled orwrapped in a suitable enclosing member such;as kraft paper or burlap,makes it possible -to readily transport such plants from one place to'another without danger of damaging the tree or plant by suchtransplanting.

1 a It is now common practice to manually prune,..or sever the-'roots ofsmall eyergreens and other plants which may subsequently requireballing,with an ordinary spade, or

other hand operated tool, to facilitate transplanting,

which obviously is slow and tedious, and thus materially increases thecost of thusrpreparing the trees and plants for transplanting.

:conveniently wrapped in a suitable enclosing member, 'such as'kraftpaper, or burlap, asis well-known.-, Thus,

by the use of the novel machine herein disclosed, the manual laborheretofore required to ball the roots of trees, shrubs and other smallplants maybe materially reduced, with the'result that the operation ofballing such plants or treesfor transplanting, may be accomplished in afar more expeditious and economical manner than has heretofore beenpossible with conventional equipment. 1

A'further objectis to provide a balling machine comprising a poweroperatedballing bandwhich is substantially cylindrical-in cross-section,and comprises two semicylindrical sections hinged together, whereby saidsec- ,tions, when in their normal closedposition,cooperate to provide acylindrical body open at both ends, which may readily be forced into theground around the trunk 'of a tree or plantfor the purpose of severingand pruning all of theroots extending outwardly from the axisofthetree.- a a A further object of the invention, resides in the meansprovided for vertically :translating the balling band, whereby it mayquickly be maneuvered into position about a tree or plant, and forcedinto the ground to simultaneously pruneor sever all of thehorizontallydisposed roots of the tree. If desired; the balling band mayalso be actuated to bodily lift the tree and ball of soil out of theground to prepare it for transplanting.

A further object resides in the construction of the power operatedvehicle upon which the balling band is mounted, whereby the machine maybe driven over a row of seedlings, or plants with the wheels straddlinga 2,964,860 Patented Dec. 20, 1960 "ice - row of trees or plants withthe assurance the body of the machine will not damage or injure the topsof the growing plants.

A further object 'is toprovide a power operated .balling machinecomprising an upright supporting beam, or member to the lower end-ofwhich the balling band is fixedly secured, the upper'end of said beambeing pivotally connected to one end of a'fluid-operated rocker mountedupon the tractor frame, and means beingtprovided on the uprightsupporting beam of the balling band for driving the balling band intothe ground, should the ground be too hard for the rocker on the tractorto force it into the ground.

Other objects of the invention reside in the unique construction of theballing band which is so constructed that it may. readily be utilized inwet sticky soil; and in the provision of such an apparatus which isextremely efficient and practical in operation, and is soiconstructedthatit may readily be maneuvered about between the trees or plants tofacilitate positioning the. balling band around the tree or plant to beballed or transplanted, without .the necessity of'tying'up the foliageor lower branches of the tree, previously to balling, as is now requiredwhen balling trees by the old well-known methods. These and otherobjects of the invention andthe means for their attainment will be moreapparentfrom the following description taken in connection withthe-accompanying drawings. 'i

-In the accompanying drawings there has been disclosed a structuredesigned to carry out the various objects of the invention, but it is tobe understood that the invention is not fconfined to the exact featuresshown, as various changes may be made within the scope of the claimswhich follow. i

-,vIn the drawings:

Figure l is adiagrammat'i'c side elevation'al'view of a tractor, showingthe invention embodied therein, and some; of the tractor parts beingomitted;

Figure? is an enlarged detail side elevation of the balling band,parti'allyin section; Fi ure 3. is a side elevation of 'a skeletontypeballing band, for digging in sticky soils;

,Figure 4 is van enlarged detail sectional 'view on the line 4-4 ofFigure "1, showing the two sections of the balling band inrtheiroperativeclosed positions, the dotted lines indicating the pivotedsection in open position; 1 Figure 5 is a sectional plan view on theline 5-5 of .Figurev3;t i

Figured is a sectional elevation on the line 6-6 of figure 5, showng thewalls of the balling band slightly inwardly inclined in a downwarddirection;

1 Figure 7 is a view showing the balling band open, as whenplacing itabout the lower portion of a tree or plant;

Figure 8 is a sectional view of the balling band, show- .ing itpositioned about the lower portion of a tree,

about to. be thrust or forced into the ground;

Figure -9 is a view similar to Figure 8; but showing the ballingbandpartially thrust into thesoil to sever the radial roots of the tree;l Figure-l0 is a detail sectional view showing the balling band elevatedto a position to lift the tree out of the ground,andrtheienclosing'member positioned about the lower .end .of the ballingband; i

Figure-11 is ,a view similar'to Figure 10, but showing the balling bandremoved fronithe ball of earth'and the enclosing member, after which theballing band may be opened to permit its complete removal from the plantor tree; and

Figure 12 illustrates the tree or plant after the balling operation lasbeen completed.

The present application is a division of my co-penda .3 ingapplication,Serial No. 417,849, filed March 22,1954, now abandoned.

In the selected embodiment of the invention herein disclosed, there isillustrated in Figure 1, for purposes of disclosure, a power unit ortractor comprising the usual body 2, front and rear Wheels 3 and 4, andastructural supporting frame, generally .designated by the numeral 5.The frame 5 is mounted on uprights 6 and 7, located respectively at thefront and rear of the tractor bcdy as illustrated in Figure 1. Thestructural frame Salso comprises cross members 8, and longitudinallyextending frame members 9.

The machine herein disclosedis designed for straddling two plant rows,and its body 2 is so located between the rear wheels 4 as to provideadequate overhead clearance for small trees, shrubs and plants, overwhich it may be necessary tomaneuver the apparatus when in use. Suitableguides 11 and 12 are provided forwardly of the front and rear wheels 3and 4, respectively, to prevent the wheels from passing over overhangingbranches, or portions of plants which may extend outwardly therefrom,when the tractor is propelled between the trees and other plants.

One of the important features of the present invention resides in theunique construction of the balling band,

generally designated by the numeral 13. The balling band, illustrated inFigures 2, 3, 4, Sand 6, comprises two sections pivotally connectedtogether by a suitable hinge 16, whereby the balling band may be opened,as ind.cated by the dotted lines in Figure 4, and full lines in Figure 7to facilitate placing it in position about a tree to be balled ortransplanted, or to remove it from a tree. In Figures 1 and 2, theballing band is comprising two sections 14 and 15, which, when in theirnormal closed positions, as shown in full lines in Figure 4,

cooperate to provide a slightly elongated cylindrical body,

open at its top and bottom ends, whereby said body may be forceddownwardly into the soil, or ground by exerting pressure on the upperend thereof.

A spring-biased latch 17 is shown carried by the pivoted section 15 ofthe balling band and is adapted to interlock with a keeper 18 secured tothe fixed section 14 of the balling band, as clearly illustrated inFigure 4. The latch member 17 is shown provided with an operating handle19.

The sections 14 and 15 of the balling band are provided at their upperends with reinforcing elements 21 and 22 which are permanently securedto their respective band sections to provide, in effect, integral partsthereof. To retain the two sections 14 and 15 of the balling band inproper positions, when closed, as shown in Figures 2 'and 4, a tongueelement 23 is shown fixed to the pivoted section 15 adapted to bereceived in a socket member 24, secured to the relatively fixed member14 thus cooperating with the hinge 16 to retain the two sections of theballing band in their proper positions when the balling band is closed,as illustrated in Figures 4.and 5 ofthe drawings.

The balling band 13 is secured to the lower end of an upright supportingbeam or member 25, having its upper end pivotally connected to a rocker26 by a uni- -versal coupling element, generally designated by thenumeral 27. The lower end of the supporting beam 25 is received in asocket provided in a bracket 28 secured to the reinforcing band 21 ofthe balling band ceive a coupling bolt 33' carried by the plunger34- ofa hydraulic cylinder 35, pivoted at 36 to a bracket 37 secured to thestructural frame 5 of the tractor. Means, not shown in the drawings, isprovided for conducting a pressure fluid to and from the cylinder 35 tocontrol operation of the rocker 26. The plunger 34 is doubleactIng,whereby the rocker may be utilized for forcing the balling band 13 intothe ground, or for withdrawing it therefrom.

When it is desired to prune or sever the outwardly extending rootsof-asmallevergreen, or other tree or plant, the tractor is maneuveredinto position to bring the balling band 13 into proper position, withrespect to the tree to be balled. When thus maneuvering the balling bandinto position, the pivoted section 15 thereof is preferably swung open,as indicated in Figures 4 and 7. The fixed member or section 14 is thenmanually moved into proper position with respect to the tree by anoperaor manipulating the supporting beam 25 of the balling band, which,as hereinbefore stated, is suspended from the universal coupling 27 ofthe rocker 26.

When the fixed section 14 of the balling band has beenmaneuvered intoproper position with respect to the tree to be balled, as illustrated inFigure 8, the attendant manipulating the beam 25 of the balling bandwill swing the hinged section 15 of the balling band into lockingengagement with the fixed section 14, as shown in Figure 8. This isoften done without previously tying up the foliage of the tree, as isnow usually necessary with hand balling methods. The operator on thetractor then manipulates the control for the fluid supply to thecylinder 35, whereupon the rocket 26 is actuated to force the ballingband into the soil to a depth at least equal to, or slightly below thelowermost horizontal roots of the tree, as indicated in Figure 9.

When the roots have thus been pruned, the balling band may be withdrawnfrom the ground, as indicated in Figure 11,to facilitate wrappingburlap, paper, or fitting a pre-formed pulp enclosing member 38 aroundthe lower end of the soil-filled balling band, as shown in Figure 10.The ball of soil and roots may then be released from the balling bandand placed on the ground in the position shown in Figure 12, after whichthe balling band may be completely removed from the tree or plant, aswill be understood. If burlap or paper is utilized for balling theplant, the operator may wrap the upper portion 39 of the wrapper, orenclosing member 38 over the top of the ball of soil removed with thetree roots, as illustrated in Figure 12, it being understood that theenclosing member 38 has its upper end suitably secured in positionaround the ball of soil, by tying it to the trunk of the tree, asindicated at 41 in Figure 12, and by inserting spikes or pegs throughthe enclosing wrapper into the top portion of the ball of soil, as iswell-known.

Figures 3, 5, and 6 illustrate a balling band 42 designed for operatingin wet, sticky clay soils in which it may be difiicult to operate aballing band, such as shown in Figures 4 and 5. The balling bandillustrated in Figures'3 and 5 comprises a fixed section 43 and pivotedsection 44 which cooperate to provide an open skeletonlike body havingits top, bottom, and sides open, as best illustrated in Figure 3. Theupper and lower annular portions 45 and 46 of the balling band 42- areconnected together by upright strap-like members 47 and 48, and thelower end of the balling band is preferably slightly smaller in diameterthan its upper end, as indicated at C in Figure 6. By thus making thelower end of the composite band slightly smaller in diameter than itsupper end, there is less tendency for the ball of soil and the tree todrop out of the balling band, when lifting the ballingband and tree outof the ground, as shown in Figure 10.

The open or skeleton-like balling band shown in Figures 3, 5 and 6, issubstantially self-cleaning, even when operating in wet, sticky soils,thereby eliminating the tedious task of periodically having to manuallyscrape and clean the walls of the balling band, as when using a bandhaving irnperforate walls, as illustrated in Figures 1, 2 and 4.

The novel apparatus herein disclosed has been found extremely practicaland 'efficient in the operation of balling small 'trees and plants forsubsequent transplanting. The balling band is pendently supported fromthe rocker 26 and may readily be maneuvered into position around a treeor plant by an attendant walking on-the ground along side the tractor.When the balling band has been maneuvered into position around the tree,as shown in .Figure8, the operator on the tractor admits fluid intocylinder 35 to'pr'o'ject the'piston rod or plunger 34 outwardlyj todepress rocker 26 to'the dotted line position indicatcdinFigure 1,whereupon the balling band, under normal operating conditions; is"forced into the ground, as indicated by the dotted lines in Figure 10.By thus forcing the balling band intothe ground, the lower edge thereof'severs all of the horizontally disposed roots engaged thereby, as willbe understood by reference to Figures 9 and 10.

In the next step of balling a tree, the balling band and the tree to beballed are bodily lifted out of the ground, as shown in Figure 10, and asuitable cover member 38, which may be paper, burlap, or a preformedcontainer is then fitted over the lower end of the balling band, asshown in Figure 10, after which the balling band is lowered to theposition shown in Figure 11. The operator next manipulates the latchhandle 19 to release the latch and permit the balling band to partiallyopen, as indicated at 80' in Figure 11, whereby the ball of soil and thetree are released from the balling band and drop by gravity into theenclosing member or container 38. The balling band may then be fullyopened, as indicated in Figure 7, to permit completion of the ballingoperation by the application of a burlap wrapper or other enclosingmember 38 to the ball of soil 9 roots, as indicated in Figure 12, and aswell-known in the art. When so completed, the balled evergreen or treemay be reset in the ground for subsequent transplanting.

There is now available to the trade large containers made from paperpulp, which simulate flower pots. These containers have found a readymarket among nursery men when utilizing a balling band such as hereindisclosed, in that such containers may readily be picked up bodily bythe balling band, whether submerged in the ground, or placed on topthereof and maneuvered into any desired position with a minimum oflabor.

It is to be understood that the material utilized for wrapping andenclosing the ball of earth and roots is made from a material whichreadily deteriorates, when submerged in the soil, whereby the enclosingmember or wrapper need not be removed from the ball of earth and rootsbefore the planting operation.

The foregoing detailed description has been given for clearness ofunderstanding only, and no unnecessary limitations should be understoodtherefrom, and the appended claims should be construed as broadly aspermissible in view of the prior art.

I claim as my invention:

1. A balling band comprising two semi-cylindrical sections havingadjacent edges pivotally connected together, whereby the balling bandmay be opened to facilitate positioning the band around a tree or plant,a springbiased latch carried by one of said sections adjacent the upperend thereof and arranged to interlock with complemental means on theother of said sections, thereby to secure the sections in closedposition, a tongue element carried by one of said sections adjacent itssaid edge, and a socket member carried by the other of said sectionsadjacent its said edge and receiving said tongue element therewithinwhen said sections are in closed position to aid in retaining the twosections in their proper relative positions.

2. A balling band comprising two open framework sections eachsubstantially semi-cylindrical throughout its entire length and eachcomprising a lower semi-cylindrical strap-like member and a verticallyspaced upper relatively wider strap-like member, said elements beingfixedlysecured together by upright, circumferentially spaced narrowstrap elements to provide a compositeskeletonlike body, and meansforhingedly connecting together said sections.

3. -A balling band according to claim 2, wherein the bottom end of theballing band is only slightly smaller in diameter than the upper endthereof.

4. An open skeleton-like balling band comprising two like sectionsconnected together along a vertical axis, each section having animperforate horizontal member defining the lower end portion thereof,and an upper imperforate member forming the upper end portion thereof,and means secured to one side onlyof the upper end of one of saidsections for maneuvering the composite balling band into position abouta ,tree and thereafter forcing the band into the ground about the tree.

5. In an apparatus of the class described, a mobile frame having arocker mounted thereon, a balling band open at its top and bottomvendsandhaving a rigid upright member secured thereto, and means pivotallyconnecting the upper end of said upright member to the rocker, wherebythe balling band may be forced downwardly into the ground about a treeor plant, said balling band comprising upper and lower annular memberssecured together solely by circumferentially spaced upright strap-likemembers, thereby to provide an open skeletonlike composite balling band.6. An apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the balling band iscomposed of two semi-cylindrical vertical sections pivotally hingedtogether along a vertical axis, whereby the balling band may be openedto facilitate placing it about a tree or plant.

7. A balling band comprising two open frame-work sections eachsubstantially semi-cylindrical throughout its entire length and eachcomprising a lower semi-cylindrical rigid strap-like member and avertically spaced upper relatively wide rigid strap-like member, saidelements being fixedly secured together by a plurality of uprightcircumferentially spaced narrow rigid strap elements to provide a rigidcomposite skeleton-like body, said open framework sections havingadjacent edges pivotally connected together.

8. The structure defined in claim 7 wherein said sections have upper andlower end portions and taper inwardly very slightly toward their lowerend portion.

9. The structure defined in claim 7 and elongated rigid support meanssecured to the exterior surface of only one of said sections andsupporting the entire band solely.

10. A tree balling device comprising a mobile frame having a rockermounted thereon, a balling band open at its top and bottom ends, a rigidupright support member secured to said balling band at one side onlythereof, and coupling means universally connecting the upper end of saidupright member to the rocker whereby said balling band may be swunglaterally and forwardly and rearwardly relative to the longitudinalcenter of said mobile frame to permit the balling band to be placedabout a tree or plant which is out of alignment of its row and to beforced downwardly into the ground thereabout whereby the tree and theearth therearound may be removed from the ground.

11. The structure defined in claim 10 wherein said balling band iscapable of being supported by said support member at opposite sides ofthe longitudinal axis of said u ri ht member whereby greater leeway withrespect to the position of a tree to be dug relative to said frame ispermitted.

12. An open skeleton-like balling band comprising two like sectionsconnected together along a vertical axis. each of said sections having arigid elongated curved narrow band defining the lower end portionthereof and extend.-

-in g-vertically in cross section, and having a --verticallyspaced-rigid curved horizontally extending band definingrockermountedthereon and disposed laterally relative to the longitudinalcenterof said frame, said frame having rear wheels disposed outwardly ofsaid rocker relative to said frame,-a balling band open'at its upper andbottom ends, a rigid upright support member secured to the upper end ofsaid balling band at one side only thereof and supporting the same, auniversal coupling means connecting the upper-end of said upright memberto said rocker whereby said balling band may be forced downwardly intothe groundabout a tree or plant even though the latter is located aconsiderable distance forwardly or rearwardly of said coupling means andlaterally of a line extending through said coupling means and parallelto the longitudinal center of said frame.

14.'The structure defined in claim 13 wherein said balling band isadjustably secured to the lower end portion of said support member topermit the same to bedisposed at opposite positions relative to thelongitudinal axis of said support member whereby the facility of thecomposite device to dig a tree within a wide area relative to saiduniversal coupling is substantially enhanced.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS310,592 Johnson Ian. 13, 1885 357,197 Harsin Feb. 8, 1887 879,613Edwards Feb. 18, 1908 1,011,198 Holmes Dec. 12, 1911 1,038,924 MatthewsSept. 17, 1912 1,052,367 Neil Feb. 4, 1913 1,162,126 Bates Nov. 30, 19152,035,980 Pope Mar. 31, 1936 2,669,065 Clegg Feb. 16, 1954 2,775,428Monthan Dec. 25, 1956

